Each map inTerra Nilconsists of three stages. During the first stage,players must clean the landscapeand cover it with greenery and blue ocean tiles. During the second stage, players replace the generic greenery with various biomes based on the local climate.
The third stage is a two-step process. First, players mustrecycle and reclaim all the buildings they usedto restore the map. Second, players must discover three out of six animal species that can populate the area. However, many players have trouble using theTerra Nilanimal scanner, which is why this guide will offer step-by-step instructions on how to do so.
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The Animal Observatory
The first thing players must do to find animals during stage 3 is place an Animal Observatory. This building is on the tier 3 list of every single map in the game, the cost is a cheap 25 leaves, and players can set it down on any tile surface aside from water.
Once the Observatory exists on the map, players can start to scan for wildlife. However,if something happens to the Observatory, like getting recycled or burned up in a Solar Amplifier fire, players will need to place a new Observatory to continue scanning.
How to Scan for Animals
To scan for animals, players must click on the orange button in the upper-left corner of the screen, just under the list of animals found. On the new menu that appears, players should click on the scan button, which looks like a big C. This button will be here even if players haven’t placed an Animal Observatory, but it only works if the Observatory is on the map.
After pressing the button, a big radius will appear around the cursor and players can click on a spot to scan it for animals. It’s important to note that players aren’t actually looking for animals in the wild, they’re actually looking for biome tiles. If the scan results meet the conditions needed by an animal, all the circles will turn green and an animal group will appear on the map in the location scanned. There may be other animals on the map already, but these animals appear because of completed optional goals and have nothing to do with scanning.
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Each animal has its own set of conditionsplayers must meet to discover them. Usually they need one or more sets of biome tiles, but a few animals have very specific requirements. Each of the four climates in the game has six animals to discover, but players only need three to complete a map. However, finding all six will help players completely restore the world and get the Global Rejuvenation achievement.
Every animal entry in the menu has a description that hints at the kind of environment players must find to spawn them. The scanner can also provide hints: a completed requirement shows a green circle and specific information, a partially completed requirement shows a yellow circle and general information, and a missed requirement shows a red circle with no information. When players start a new map in the same climate after finding an animal, the scanner will always start the scan list with the specific requirements on display.
Something else to note is thatplayers can use the scanner to spawn multiple animal groups. For instance, since deer in the Temperate zone like greenery, players can use the scanner to spawn a group of deer in every open field on the map. This is useful because some animals will only spawn if there’s another group of animals in the scan area. Animal groups often appear throughout the map after players discover them, but this way players can place a group deliberately.
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Brown Bear
20 Forest, 1 Beehive, Raised Elevation
The scanner can only check one terrain level at a time, so the beehive and forest must be on the raised area.
Goose
A River or Lake with a radius of 4 tiles
Wetland tiles don’t count, butthe main river in the River Valleyshould be wide enough at the corners.
Timber Wolf
15 Forest, Deer group
Deer prefer greenery over fynbos, so don’t use beehives around the edge of every forest.
Tortoise
10 Beach, on a small island
The game isn’t consistent with how it checks for islands, so any beach with water on two sides may be good enough.
Parrot
20 Tropical Forest, 0 Buildings
Just do some recycling before hunting for parrots, and attempt to avoid recycling the Animal Observatory.
Flamingo
10 Beach, 10 Wetlands
Flamingos specifically want wetland tiles rather than mangrove tiles, so build a Hydroponium near a beach and don’t use the Salinator.
Reef Shark
16 Coral Reef, 4 Mangrove, global temp of 20 °C or higher
The last requirement can be tough to discover since the scan won’t mention it until the current temperature is already close.
Whale
20 Ocean, 0 land tiles, 10 Deep Ocean
Just scan an empty corner of the map. Players might not see whales immediately, but they’ll count towards the total.
Elk
6 Lichen, 20 Snow
Generate snow tiles using the Flash Freezer or by triggering a snowfall.
Narwhal
20 Ocean, 4 Ice Sheets, global temp of -10 °C
-10 °C is as low as the temperature goes in this climate.
Penguin
16 Ice Sheets, 10 Ocean
Ice sheets are ocean and river tiles affected by the Flash Freezer or snowfall.
16 Snow, 6 Ocean, Elk group
Eagle
6 Derelict Skyscrapers, Boar group
Skyscraper frames also count, but not Bamboo Nurseries. Recycle them before looking for Eagles.
Boar
8 Greenery, 12 Deciduous Forest
Combined with the Eagle requirements, players should avoid using every skyscraper as a Bamboo Nursery.
Sea Otter
12 Ocean, 12 Kelp Forest
Kelp Forests appear on continental maps after completing an optional goal. Check the deep ocean tiles after doing so.
Terra Nilis available now on Android, iOS, and PC.
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